"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't give up!"
The moment Hashirama made his move, Deidara—already on guard—immediately jumped off his clay giant bird, narrowly avoiding the wooden hand's grasp. At the same time, golden-red Nine-Tails chakra shimmered across his body. He reached into his pouch, grabbed a handful of clay, and began kneading it furiously.
"What is this!?" Hashirama's face went ashen.
"Nine-Tails chakra!" Tobirama's brow furrowed, his voice sharp with certainty.
The familiar golden-red energy radiated from Deidara. Hashirama and Tobirama recognized it instantly, and their hearts sank. A single thought flashed through both their minds simultaneously.
Four-Star Village... no, it should be called Menma. He's allied with the Akatsuki!
Or maybe the mastermind behind the Akatsuki is Menma!
But why? Why would Menma collect the Tailed Beasts and start a war? Was his hatred for Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others so deep it extended to the entire village? Was he trying to destroy Konoha as revenge?
Tobirama's mind raced, trying to decipher Menma's motives. Meanwhile, Hashirama's expression turned grim. He'd given up on Menma entirely, the hope that the boy might inherit the Will of Fire now extinguished.
Just as the two brothers were reeling from the revelation, Deidara finished shaping his explosive clay. He thrust his hands outward, hurling countless clay spiders and birds at the surrounding Konoha ninja. With his right hand, he formed a quick hand seal.
"Hah!"
With a sharp shout, the clay spiders and birds glowing with blinding light erupted violently, forming countless small, dazzling suns that engulfed an area hundreds of meters wide.
---BOOM!---
Deafening explosions like summer thunder shook the ground. Flying earth and dust instantly covered the battlefield.
"Hahaha! Art is a bang!"
Perched atop another giant clay bird, Deidara laughed as he soared into the sky from the dust cloud, clearly satisfied with his masterpiece. But his smug expression froze the next second.
The dust below was dissipating at an impossible speed.
There, standing unharmed, was a massive wooden shield with fangs and a demonic face.
Wood Release: Shield Formation!
"What the hell is this?" Deidara barely got the question out before the shield clicked open, revealing Hashirama and his shinobi standing inside, heads tilted back.
"That actually blocked my wind-art fusion!"
"Orochimaru's puppet show this time is almost as impressive as Sasori's art!"
Deidara and Sasori had seen Orochimaru's immature Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei) before. But compared to Hashirama now, the Third Kazekage puppet was completely outclassed.
"But the intensity's just right—perfect to test how explosive my current art is, hmm!"
The giant bird beneath Deidara's feet rose again, its beak chewing on fresh clay. But before he could launch his next attack, he and the others below were distracted by something rushing toward them.
An eight-headed white snake rapidly approached from the distance, with a puppet floating above it, imbued with Nine-Tails chakra. Tobirama's eyes locked onto the scene.
Though called an eight-headed snake, five heads had already been severed, leaving bleeding stumps. The remaining three heads teetered on the brink of collapse, repeatedly struck at the same spot on their necks by the puppet.
"That's Orochimaru's Eight Branches Technique!"
"And those shinobi chasing it... they've all obtained Nine-Tails chakra!"
Seeing the situation clearly, Tobirama was both shocked and enraged.
"This is insane! How many people has Menma given this power to?"
He knew all too well how dangerous that power was—he'd been ganged up on by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who also possessed Nine-Tails chakra. The thought of Menma recklessly distributing such power made him panic.
Hashirama, standing nearby, looked grave. He stepped forward.
"Tobirama, don't overthink it. Leave this to me. You take the others and search for any surviving villagers. Our target Orochimaru is here—I'll capture him and those Akatsuki kids alive. The Yamanaka clan can extract what we need from their memories."
Rather than try to figure out the truth, Hashirama felt it was better to capture them all and check their memories. Even if he was wrong, he could just apologize later. Besides, he desperately wanted to know if the Nine-Tails chakra came from Menma. All signs pointed to him, but Hashirama still held onto a sliver of hope.
After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi's village had failed the Fourth Hokage's son. That had led directly to all of this. If it weren't for the urgency, Hashirama didn't want to harm Naruto's father again—he wanted to guide him back to the right path.
"I understand, brother."
Tobirama knew he and the others would only be a burden in Hashirama's full-power fight. He nodded decisively and turned to the shinobi.
"Everyone, move away from the battlefield. Spread out and search. Report immediately if you find Homura or Koharu!"
Tobirama hadn't noticed before, but now he realized Homura, Koharu, and the others weren't here!
Watching Tobirama and the others disappear into the distance, Hashirama withdrew his gaze and clasped his hands together sharply. A torrent of chakra surged forth.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
---RUMBLE!---
The earth shook violently, cracking open. Giant tree vines tore through the ground, intertwining and crisscrossing until a massive wooden dragon, over ten meters long, formed. Hashirama stood atop its head, arms crossed, facing the wind.
"Amazing! This terrifying Wood Release technique... it really feels like the God of Shinobi has returned!"
Deidara, standing on his giant clay bird in the sky, gazed down at the oppressive wooden dragon and couldn't help but feel awe. Then he looked at the approaching eight-headed serpent.
"And Orochimaru, being chased by Sasori... my art won't lose to yours, not even in size!"
Deidara, who also possessed his own "Gundam," reached into his side pouches and pulled out more clay, stuffing it into his mouth.
"Let me show you the ultimate explosion art I prepared especially for Itachi Uchiha!"
"C4 Garuda!"
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